New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, right, and batting partner Rachin Ravindra run between the wickets during the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal match against South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan
| Photo Credit: AP
New Zealand’s Kane Williamson reckons India have “real clarity” on how they want to operate in Dubai for the Champions Trophy final, having played all their games at the same venue but added that his team will also be reasonably well-prepared for Sunday’s finale.
Williamson scored a century as the Kiwis defeated South Africa in the semifinal on Wednesday (March 5, 2025), and fellow centurion Rachin Ravindra also shared his view on the Dubai pitch, saying that he feels adapting to the conditions will be key to succeed on an “unknown” surface.
Williamson did not specifically say that India had an advantage of playing at one venue. Except the group match against India in Dubai, New Zealand have played all their games in Pakistan. The Kiwis had also played two games in Lahore during the preceding tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.
India, on the other, have played all their matches in Dubai and are familiar with the conditions.
India has ‘real clarity’: Williamson
“I suppose having played there on a number of occasions, there’s real clarity in how they want to operate,” said Williamson when asked if India go into the final with an advantage of knowing the conditions.
“A little bit like our opportunity here (Lahore), having played a number of times at this venue as well and I think that’s part and parcel in cricket,” he added.
He was referring to New Zealand’s understanding of conditions in Lahore, where they beat South Africa. New Zealand had played two games in Lahore during the preceding tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.
“It is what it is (India play all games in Dubai). Our focus is the next match, the location of that match, the opposition, they’re all factors. Obviously, we played India once there,” he said.
“The conditions are different, so it’s important that we try and take away some of those positives and be nice and clear in how we’re trying to operate come two or three-days’ time in the final,” he said referring to New Zealand’s loss to India in the group stage.
Need to adapt: Ravindra
Ravindra said: “We don’t quite know what the Dubai pitch is. We saw in our (group) game against India the ball turning but the other day didn’t turn so much. We found ourselves adapting and playing according to situations, which we will need to do on Sunday again.”
“We will see in the next couple of days and hopefully it’s a good cricket wicket.”
Ravindra scored only six against India in the group, falling to Hardik Pandya while going for an upper cut, but the left-hander hopes for a better outing in the final.
“You get out pretty much every time you bat. Hopefully I can bat for a longer period of time and continue to play well for my team,” he said.
Daryl Mitchell avoids talk on venue advantage
Senior middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell, who made 49 off 37 balls in the semifinal, said he was not interested in poking his nose in the talks surrounding an unfair advantage to India because of playing all their matches at one venue.
“Just really happy with winning the game today and moving onto the final, it’s an exciting opportunity,” Mitchell said.
“That’s the nature of international cricket. We do a lot of travelling and we are used to that. It’s not for me to decided how the tournament should be planned. I am just excited to be in an ICC final and looking forward to play in a few days time.”
Gambhir refutes advantage claim
Earlier, India’s coach Gambhir had defended against the criticism that India enjoys the advantage of playing all its matches at one venue, which helps the team easily adapt to the conditions.
“What undue advantage? We haven’t practiced here even for a day. We’re practicing at the ICC Academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. If you look at the wickets there and here, the difference is between the ground and the sky. Some people are just perpetual cribbers. They have got to grow up. I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage,” Gambhir retorted.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – March 06, 2025 02:36 pm IST